Some keynote speaker says that they do not use humor in their speech because it does not go with their comfort. In fact any body can use humor and it is a very valuable tool in speaking. Apt humorous speech relaxes your audience and creates more comfortable feel with you as a humorous speaker. Humor could also bring attention to the point you are making; and it as well help the audience better remember your point. It actually breaks down barriers so that the audience is more open to your tips and ideas.
The best and most comfortable place to find humor is only out your own personal experience. Just think back on any embarrassing moment that you may have thought not funny at that time. Now that you are sharing the experience, you understand how funny it is. There is an old saying “Humor is simply tragedy separated by time and space.” Or just think of any incident that was funny to be shared. Here, you are not trying to be comedian; you just want to make it easy for people to pay attention and to assist them remember your actual point.
Here are some ideas on using humor to make your next speech have more impact.
Verify that the humor is funny.
If you don''t normally laugh or smile at the cartoon, funny story, pun, joke, story, or other forms of humor, then you surely cannot expect an audience to do so. A key to using humor is only using humor, which makes you laugh or smile.
Use related Humor.
Do not use humor that is merely there to make the viewers laugh. The humor needs to tie in with some facet of your speech. For example, I tell about my experience of getting braces at age 50 and how hard it was for me to get used to the wires and rubber bands in my mouth. After I tell the story I make the point that you might have not had the braces difficulty I had, but we all have facing in speaking well, and what we desire to look at today are ways of making it simple for us to be more effectual in speaking. This would in turn make no sense, so be apt and use related humor to your topic.
Start with impressive short.
A starting point may be to abridge a cartoon and give the title as your humor. A stimulating yet intelligent line about a point you are making is one more way of getting started. For example, when I talk about inspiration and getting out of your ease zone, a line I found that worked well was, "Orville Wright did not have a pilot''s license." In your reading, look for lines, which make you smile; think how they may be used in your next coming speech. Be careful about initiation into a long humorous story--audiences are fast to forgive a single line, which might not be funny, but they do not have much patience with a huge story that isn''t worth the time. So you need to start out with smart and inspiring bits of humor.